Cuttack, May 29: BJD's Barabati-Cuttack MLA Debashish Samantaray's family feud took a political twist with his sister-in-law Sikha Samantaray today campaigning for the Congress candidate fighting the municipal corporation by-poll from ward No. 21.

Sikha said she decided to take on Debasish, who is her husband's elder brother, because he has denied her a share in the family property.

Around a month ago, she had approached the State Commission for Women to redress her grievances but her complaint is still pending before the panel.

Sikha, while narrating her story to the voters, said her husband and his family were being denied their share of money and being subjected to harassment by the MLA.

"I am campaigning for Gouri Das (the Congress candidate) who is a lawyer because I know her personally and want people to vote in her favour as she is worthy among the candidates in the fray. Besides, I want the by-poll in the ward to be a referendum on the BJD MLA," Sikha Samantaray told The Telegraph in the midst of her door-to-door campaign at Telenga Bazar.

"The BJD MLA and my husband jointly owned a factory at Puducherry. He sold the property recently, but did not give my husband his share. He turned his back on me even when I asked him to give the share for treatment of my husband, who is suffering from cancer," Sikha said.

The Congress is looking to cash in on the public sympathy Sikha is trying to draw.

"We expect her appeal will work in our favour as the BJD MLA is leading the campaign for his party candidate," city Congress president Mohammed Moquim told The Telegraph.

The BJD has fielded greenhorn Tulasi Behera.

"It will have no impact on the voters," BJD Barabati-Cuttack MLA Debasish Samantaray told The Telegraph, while denying the allegations of her sister-in-law.

"If she had anything to say against me, she could have taken the matter to my father who is still very much alive," Samantaray said.

Senior BJP leader Samir Dey said: "The by-poll will have no consequence as even if the BJD loses, the party will continue to rule the Cuttack Municipal Corporation. But there is a palpable public mood against the party due to non-performance of the civic body."

The by-election was necessitated because mayor Anita Behera of the BJD had to put in her papers last year over ration card fiasco.